Last One, I Promise...

Bear -- [adjective]: Fuzzy to the touch 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

I'm speechless...

R.I.H.O.T. Loyal Readers... -- [adjective]: Benevolent to a fault 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Heh, heh...

Ruby In Her Own Time... -- [noun]: A person of questionable sanity who starts their own cult 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

So, So True...

Ruby Cate -- [adjective]: Visually addictive 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Again, I Digress...

mom4ruby -- [noun]: A master of storytelling 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

When In Doubt...

...eBay!

Ok, so I still can't find a job to speak of, HOWEVER, I DO have lots of really cute Ruby things that she's either never worn that still have the tags on them OR that she's gently worn & are ready to be worn by another cute little girl somewhere...

SO, I have recently tried my luck listing a few things & we'll see how they do but I've not really sold much on eBay ever, usually am the one buying gifts for Ruby, family & friends to be honest, so this selling is a whole new ball game.

Wish me luck & LET'S PLAY BALL!

Here are the items I've listed:
(To view these items on ebay, search by seller id & enter: Amyla72)

Baby Gap Newborn Stage 1 Lined Dress W/Sweater:


NWT 18mo. .fefe' wool sweater & skirt set:


NWOT Polly & Friends denim dress size 2T:


Precious sweater set with matching shirt & pants 24mo:

NWOT 24mo Denim floral jacket:


NWOT 18mo 'Baby Nay' black velvet Christmas/party dress:



If these sell, then I'll be listing more cute Ruby items
that she's either outgrown or never got a chance to wear.

WISH ME LUCK!!!

Mirror, Mirror...

...hey that's my NOSE!

Ah, Sweet Dreams...

...& even SWEETER dreams when I'm breakin' the rules & snoozin' in MOMMA'S BED!
(I can't help it, it's just so toasty!)

"Happy Now Momma..."

Ruby & I were watching our China video this morning all curled up in my bed together & it's always at the part where it's our 'gotcha' moment & 'Baby Ruby' is crying.
Hard & constant crying I might add.

After being handed my daughter, I made my way up to my hotel room & proceeded to peel off 8million layers of hot thick clothing & attempt to calm her down.
I finally did so with the help of allot of patience, some silly 'nanny' tactics
and one little see through block with a kitty & a ball of yarn inside it.

I rocked that block back & forth making a 'meow meow meow' little song up as I went & at precisely minute # 45, my little miss Ruby smiled at me for the very first time.
An honest to goodness smile.

It's at this point in the video that Ruby always smiles...

...only this time, that smile was followed with these words:

"Happy now Momma, baby Ruby happy now!"

I cried.

Yes sweetie, baby Ruby is happy now
&
so is her Momma.

Just Because I Was In The Mood...

...I give you:

Chicken Vegetable Stew!

Ingredients:


1 lb boneless chicken breast (cut into bite size pieces)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
6 celery stalks chopped
pkg baby carrots chopped
6-7 red bliss potatoes (chopped into bite size pieces)
1/2 stick butter
2 lg Spanish onions chopped
4 cloves garlic chopped
fresh ground pepper
ground thyme (few shakes)
8 cups chicken stock
all purpose flour (two hand fulls)
mixed frozen veggies
1/2 box ditalini pasta
1/2 cup whole milk

Directions:


Melt butter in large soup pot



& saute all at once, onions, garlic & celery, fresh ground pepper & ground thyme until celery starts to become transparent.



Once that happens, add chicken & cook for about 8-10 minutes...



then add hand fulls of flour to create a roux.


Once thick, add stock



& all the veggies & mix well.



Then add both cans of cream of chicken soup & again mix well.


Lower the heat, cover & allow to simmer until it reaches a low rolling boil.


Once potato's are fork tender, you may add your pasta (raw) & it'll cook within the stew in about 10-15 minutes.

Once pasta is cooked, take pot off the heat & allow to sit for at least ten minutes before serving.



Serve with fresh loaf of garlic bread & freshly grated parmegiano regianno cheese to top.

ENJOY!

Inch By Inch...

...one year of growth has crept by!

I started recording Ruby's height on a little 'non functional' space on my living room wall.
You'll notice that the first time I did this was Groundhog Day, 2006.
(2-2-06)
I don't recall why we didn't start this upon our immediate arrival home, but my best guess would be that settling into a whole new life, a whole new routine, a whole new set of 'baby' rules left me worrying about more important things than a mark on my wall.
So, for whatever reason, Groundhog day it was & I wanted to mark the 'one year anniversary' of pissing off my father by drawing on the wall with her most recent recorded height.

MAN has she GROWN!

A little over FIVE INCHES to be exact!

The sad part about this wall is that someday, my kid, with the long legs & the taller than average build, is going to COMPLETELY TRUMP MY SHORT ASS
which only comes up to a sad 5'4''.
That's MY GIRL!
Nearly 36" of GORGEOUS!

Ice Cream Or Not...

...CONES ARE LOTS OF FUN!!

& after the giggles...


...some Bear smoochies to end the night.


C'mon Momma, why do you always have to be taking pictures of our PRIVATE moments?!


Can't a girl smooch her Bear in PEACE?


Awwwww, Bear now come on, you know you're just showing off for the camera!


Hee hee, Bear, you're so funny I just love you SO MUCH!
(hey, is my hair lookin' ok?)
Aw nevermind... just give me a HUG!

Tuesdays With Uncle Steve...

Chicken Florentine & Pasta Soup:


I am only going to post our 'end result photo' for tonight,
simply because if you want the recipe, it's as easy as typing 'CHICKEN FLORENTINE' in the little 'search this blog' window on the top left of the blog...
ENJOY!
=)

It was GOOOOOOOOOOD!

(Oh, we served ours with wheat garlic bread!)

Tags...

...that have gone full circle.

Here's Johnny's response to this tag after having received it over a YEAR ago!
LOL
(My bad... but here are his quirks anyhoo!)

Enjoy!

Six Strange Things...

...about ME!
I've been TAGGED, so here goes...
(sadly, it's limited to ONLY six, but I'll try my best to pick the BEST ones!)

1. I'm OBSESSED with TWEEZING any/ALL random stray hairs I find on my body!
Be it face, lip, neck WHEREVER, IF IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE THERE OR IT'S THERE AND I DON'T WANT IT THERE, IT'S SOOOOOOO GONE! I'll sit in front of a mirror for AN HOUR STRAIGHT until I get that little bastard OUT!
(I know, I need a support group...)

2. I am CONSTANTLY drinking water, 24/7! I am NEVER without my 'sippy' regardless of where I am or what I'm doing, you find me, you'll find that plastic thing usually nearly empty as I must fill it & drink bottle after bottle of water!
(it holds nearly 3 cups of water & I must drink at least a dozen of them a day...
you do the math!)

3. I'm peeing CONSTANTLY!
(see #2)

4. My favorite color is RED & although every room in my home is a different color,
not one room is RED, how sad is that?

5. I NEVER dry my hair, ever. I shower, toss in some
Neutrogena Triple Moisture Healing Shine Serum,
pull it up in a twist, toss in a clip & go!

6. My hair is SO THICK that at the end of the day,
once I take that clip out,
my hair is STILL WET from my morning shower. How's THAT FOR STRANGE?!

(and cuz I can't just pick six, here's a bonus #7!)

7. I am CONSTANTLY HOT! I absolutely HATE THE SUMMER and
ADORE THE COLD COLD WINTER MONTHS!

Last night, I went out to play pool with some friends & although there's snow & ice on the ground, I wore my Birkenstock sandals out... no lie!
(& NO I wasn't cold!)

Ok, I tag Johnny for this one... and for the record Johnny, THOSE STEAKS LOOKED FANDAMNTASTIC! OMG!
*DROOL*

A Love Letter: Translated...

Dear Pei Mu's Mother,

Got your letter, it was a big surprise to have it arrive from inside china. I do not have any friends or family who would send a letter, but I got the letter from your friend Ning. The first time I got the letter I was wondering 'where is this letter coming from' so I opened it & right away your daughters picture was right in front of my face and I was yelling to everyone in my family to come over & see the picture of our daughter! by that time my husband was working out on the farm & when he heard me screaming, he stopped working ,ran home & asked if a letter came from our daughter! So the whole family is so excited & so appreciative to receive the letter & the pictures they don't want to put it down, we all started to cry! We miss her so bad and we never thought we would get a letter from you with the pictures and it was so nice of you to think about sending a letter & pictures to us! For you to understand how much we miss our Pei Pei means so much! My whole family says thank you thank you & please say thank you to your friend because without your friends help we never would have had contact with you and understand how everything is going on thank you so much to bring the news about Pei Pei's new life in US now.

We are not worrying anymore because we got your letter and your pictures of Pei Pei and we know everything about her life now & we won't worry about her anymore and we know that you work taking care of children for many years and we know that you are the woman who has a big loving heart and are a wonderful Mom & Pei Pei is a lucky girl to have such a wonderful Mom & thank God for you.
Thank God you have so much love for Pei Pei & she has a happy healthy life to grow up. When Pei Pei was just born she was sent to our family for fostering and now our whole family love her just like she was our own. She is like the princess in our family even for only 14 months, we feel like it's more than 14 months, she was like our own child and those months we took care of her the best we could. We were concerned about everything about her, even when she felt a little bit unwell, we worried so much about her. When we were eating we always take turns to hold her, our whole family, so she won't be alone.
When Pei Pei was a little baby, she was smart and happy and such a lovely girl, when we get the call from the orphanage that Pei Pei was going to be adopted into a foreign family & she was leaving in a couple days, it was hard to hear. It hurt like someone just hit us in the head ,it really really hurt. We didn't know what to do, those couple days when we watched Pei Pei, how happy she was, our hearts broke and it made us cry... when we think now about those days, it's hard to remember that time. I thought about adopting Pei Pei myself, but because in our family right now we don't have enough money and the government warned us not to do that, so we could only let her go. That day when I sent Pei Pei to the orphanage, me and my husband were crying & crying, and when the people from the orphanage came and took Pei Pei away from us, I was so distraught, I collapsed on the ground & by the time my husband managed to wake me up, Pei Pei was gone already & I cried forever out on the ground and I was devastated that I will never get a chance to see my daughter Pei Pei again. I get so upset when I think about that. Other people thought about that & felt sad for me but they tried to make me feel better & told me it's best to just go home now because there is nothing more that I can do.

Up until that day, Pei Pei was the last girl we will ever foster. I am afraid it will happen again and I get too sad, I can't handle it. It's because we love Pei Pei so much, we can't handle saying goodbye to her. I have been reading your letter over and over and every time I think about Pei Pei, I would take the letter out & read it again and again. We totally understand the love you have for Pei Pei and I am so happy for Pei Pei to have you as such a good Mother. Also she plays with you well and you do anything to help her grow up to be a good girl and every person from China they all have big hearts and one day Pei Pei will grow up she will always do the same for you like you do for her. She will always love you, her wonderful Mom, We hope to keep in touch with you and one day when Pei Pei grows up, please tell her there is a Mom in China who loves her so much and tell her promise to come back to china to see the country where she was born.
In my family, I have over ten people. I have two sons, they are working doing jobs in Guangzhou. I also have a daughter who has a job in Fuzhou. My husband and I stay at home & work for the farmers & take care of our grandsons.

By now we are ok with the money stuff, we're not a rich family but it's ok. The Jiangxi province of china is not a real rich province, it's kinda poor but I believe after ten or thirteen years, Jiangxi province may be much better, not as poor. By the time Pei Pei comes to visit us in China, our province will be muh better, it's a beautiful province, you will see.

Thank you so much for the beautiful necklace that you sent. It's not problem for you to send a letter to me... could I ask you a favor, Chinese new year is coming up & my two sons they will be coming home from Guangzhou for Chinese new year, if possible that we can see pei pei on the internet, you could please call your friend & we can set up a time to put on the computer & we would like to see you on the internet. Please please say thank you to your friend Ning , thank her alot for all her help. Maybe in the future we may still need her help to contact you. Please promise me you will keep in touch.

Much love to all of you and many many hugs and kisses to our dear sweet Pei Pei!

She's blurry...

...but she's my CHUNK-O-CHINA!
LOOK AT THOSE CHEEKS ON MY BABY GIRL!
She looks to be about the same age she was when her finding ad photo was taken.
(guessing by her hair growth, or lack thereof...)
which was about 3 months... GOOD LORD EITHER SHE'S GOT ON 50 LAYERS OF CLOTHING OR MY GIRL ALWAYS LOVED HER NOODLES!

(I'm guessing that the little girl on left of pic is the other girl our FM fostered...)

A Much Needed Pick-Me-Up...

...arrived today in the mail.
*smile*
(waiting on a translation, stay tuned...)

Kick Me While I'm Down...

...still no nanny job in sight, didn't get the job I was going for recently & just found out this morning that the tax refund (adoption tax credit) that I was COUNTING ON to kinda get me through this bump in the road of my life, IS NOT COMING!

Turns out, if you haven't worked up until this tax term to put back into your taxes, you don't get to take out what is rightfully yours to begin with.

This year?
I'm getting a whopping $40. dollars back.

$40 FUCKING DOLLARS!

If anyone needs me I'll be stewing in a puddle of my own juices right over here in the corner.
I need to meltdown before I have a nervous breakdown...

...pray for something, ANYTHING or else I just don't know what's going to happen.

Morning Hair, Giggles, Bear Kisses & My Nannie...